


Healing Scars

by hoffkk



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: AU, Captain Canary, F/M, Life guard, Scars, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 18:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6868546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoffkk/pseuds/hoffkk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Leonard is a lifeguard and Sara is scared of the ocean after nearly drowning on the Queens Gambit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Healing Scars

**Author's Note:**

> An AU (but not really) formed from a prompt request sent to me via tumblr. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The sun was shining brightly down on Sara as she sat in the dry sand, a good three feet from the water's edge with her arms circling her legs and chin resting on her knees.  She glared at the water, watching the waves roll in and be dragged back out with the tide as the wind whipped her blonde hair all around.  The beach was not her idea of fun, but her sister, Laurel, dragged her out of the rental house, insisting she was not going to spend their whole vacation inside, the vacation Sara never wanted to go on, but again, Laurel insisted.  Her sister thought it would be good for Sara to get away for a little while, just the two of them and their friends, Lyla and Felicity.  You know, because a girls' trip just magically fixes everything, except that it doesn't fix anything at all, but Sara knew Laurel meant well and didn't want to disappoint her so she gave in. 

Her sister and her friends were currently down the beach a ways, cooling off from the sun in the waves.  Since Sara had a new hatred for swimming in her young adult life, she didn't bother to join, but went for a walk instead.  Now here she was, sitting alone on a beach, staring at the one thing that ruined her life 9 years ago. 

The heat was starting to get to her, so she discarded her baggy t-shirt, tossing it forcefully into the sand next to her, then threw herself backwards so she was laying in the sand.  Her arm was casually draped over her face to block out the sun. She tried to let the sounds of the ocean soothe her, but it just brought back bad memories.  Sara was willing them away when a voice broke through her thoughts.

"Ma'am?  Ma'am, are you okay?"  The masculine voice called out to her.

"Excuse me?" Sara retorted, rising to her elbows to find a lifeguard standing beside her.  He was cute in his red baggy trunks and white long-sleeved surf shirt.  His hair was dark and cut short and seemed to contradict the brightness of his blue eyes.  She would be attracted to him if he wouldn't have opened his damn mouth.

"I asked if you were okay."  He told her.

"No,"  Sara responded sassily.  "You called me ma'am. Do I _look_ like a ma'am to you?" She questioned as she rose up onto the palms of her hands.

It was quiet for a moment as the lifeguard's eye's trailed down Sara's body, giving her a onceover and taking in her toned figure clad in a black string bikini.  Then he smirked as he replied, "No, you certainly do _not_."

Sara rolled her eyes, then responded coldly, "Well, now that we've cleared that up, you can leave me alone because clearly I'm fine."

"Yes, you certainly are."  The lifeguard smirked again, but didn't make a move to return to his post.  He was intrigued by the woman, clearly she had some issues, but who doesn't?  He had his fair share, that's for sure.  He also liked a challenge, so he figured he'd stick around just a bit longer.

"Don't you have some lifeguarding to do, Mr...?" She trailed off, giving him another not-so-subtle hint to leave.

"Leonard."  He offered.

"Leonard?  Leonard the lifeguard?"  She quirked a brow,

He just shrugged like he heard the joke before, which she was sure he had, but it didn't make it any less funny to her.

"Well, Leonard the lifeguard, don't you have some lifeguarding to do?" Sara repeated her question from before.

"Actually, I was just about to take my break."  Leonard tossed back.

"Well, why don't you just do that then."  Sara said, trying to shoo him away yet again.

"I will."  He said simply before plopping down in the sand next to Sara.

She stifled smirk at his persistence and was about to make a snappy comeback when a wave rushed forward and nipped at her toes.  Sara flinched and jerked her feet forward in response.

"It's just water."  Leonard told her.  "No need to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." Sara defended. She hated the ocean, but she wasn't afraid of it, at least that's what she told herself.

"That death grip you have on the sand would say otherwise." Leonard quipped.

"I'm just not a big fan of the ocean is all...or the beach."  Sara revealed.

"Who doesn't like the beach?" Leonard asked incredulously.

"Someone who almost died from a shipwreck."  Sara replied without thinking.  She was supposed to be highly trained in keeping secrets, so why did she just tell him that?  And why did she find him so easy to talk to?

Leonard instantly felt a pang of sorrow for the girl next to him, she clearly had demons haunting her, just like he did.  He couldn't help but wonder whose were worse.  Either way, he knew neither of them deserved what they suffered through.  That much was obvious.

"That's...rough."  He said simply.

When she nodded silently, Leonard continued.  "You know, we all suffer in some way and carry our own scars, the important thing is that we don't let our scars control us."

"Are you saying you have scars, Leonard?"  She asked curiously.

"I don't just wear this for show."  He answered, tugging on the fabric of his shirt.

The corners of Sara's mouth turned down and her eyes immediately went to his torso as she wondered what exactly he was hiding under there and who caused it.

"Look, I...."  Suddenly her phone went off, interrupting her conversation.

"Hey... down the beach, I went for a walk.... okay, okay, I'm on my way."  Sara didn't say goodbye before ending the call, just rolled her eyes.  Her usual reaction to talking to Laurel these days.

"I gotta go."  Sara informed him.  "It was interesting to meet you, Leonard the lifeguard."  She grinned.

"Same to you..."  He paused, realizing he never got her name.

"Sara."  She finished for him.

"Well, it was interesting to meet you too, Sara the--"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be leaving here with one more scar than you came with."  She warned, tone dry.

Leonard just grinned and held up his hands in a surrender motion. "Fair enough."  He retorted.

Sara stood, grabbed her shirt, and began to walk away, swinging her hips as she did so, just for Leonard's sake.  After she was just a few feet away, he called out to her, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

Smiling mischievously, Sara pause briefly to call over her shoulder, "You certainly will."

Leonard shook his head at her mimicking his responses from earlier and watched her behind intently as she made her way back down the beach.

Yeah, Leonard's lifeguarding gig just got a whole lot better... and so did Sara's vacation.

*********

Sara and Leonard met up every day on the beach to chat and get to know each other a little better.  They talked about their families and friends, about their hopes and fears,  and even about their demons and scars.  Sara told Leonard about the shipwreck and the league, though she was vague about the latter for his own safety.  In return, Leonard told Sara about his abusive father and absent mother and how he withstood it all for the sake of his baby sister.  They didn't really know why, but they trusted each other quite easily, a feeling neither was used to.

On Sara's last day of vacation, she snuck away to meet Leonard on the beach one last time.  They sat in _their_ spot, watching the sunset in peace, when Leonard broke the silence.

"I'm gonna miss you, Sara." He admitted, sliding his hand across the sand to hers, so his pinky finger grazed hers.  She smiled as she felt the warmth of his finger and the coolness of his pinky ring.  She never got the full story behind the ring, but he did say that he wore it to remind himself that sometimes things don't go according to plan and that that's okay because everything happens for a reason.  Sara liked the sentiment, she didn't know if it was true, but she liked it nonetheless.  She also liked his show of affection.  If she learned anything about him, it was that he wasn't the affectionate type, at least not usually.  So, him making the first move, however small it was, was actually pretty big.

Sara didn't say anything until the sun was completely down and the moon was casting its glow on the ocean in front of them.

"Leonard?"  She inquired.

"Hmmmm?" He answered coolly.

"Do you remember what you said the first day we met? About not letting our scars control us?"  Sara probed.

"Yeah.  What about it?" Leonard responded, meeting her eyes.

"I don't want my scars to control me anymore,"  She replied matter-of-factly.  "and I think I'm finally ready to take the power back... if you'll help me."

Leonard smiled at her request.  If there was anything he learned about Sara, it was that she wasn't one to ask others for help, at least not usually.  So, her looking to him for support, though seemingly a small gesture, was actually pretty big.

"Of course."  He nodded.

With that, Sara stood, stripping off her baggy t-shirt to reveal a white string bikini.  Leonard liked it... _a lot_.  It suited her much more than the black one she usually wore.

Sara smiled at his smile and reach a hand out to him.  He grabbed it and rose to his feet.  He began to move forward toward the ocean, but a stationary Sara jerked him backward.

He furrowed his brow and stared at her quizzically, waiting for her to say something.

She cocked her head to the side and said, "If I am facing my scars, then you should too." She gave a little tug on his swim shirt to emphasize her point.

He sighed, knowing she was right, that it was time.  Leonard never went in the water without his shirt, but he would tonight, he would for her.  He would do anything for her.

With that, Leonard let go over her hand and removed his shirt, tossing it next to hers in the sand.  Sara stared at him for a long moment, taking in the small scars that were scattered across his front, then the large one that started on his front near his naval and wrapped around his side and stretched across his back.  She extender her arm and traced what she could see of the large one with her thumb.  Tears pooled in her eyes, but she held them back, shifting her thoughts from how scared young Leonard must have been to how slowly and painfully she could kill his father.  She wouldn't actually kill him, but she sure wanted to.

"Hey," He said, grabbing her hand. "eyes up here." He added teasingly to try to lighten the mood.

She gave a dry laugh in response, threaded her fingers through his and squeezed his hand, then they made their way toward the water.  Sara hesitated by the wet sand and Leonard returned the favor from a moment ago, giving her hand a squeeze for reassurance. Sara looked into his eyes and nodded once, then they stepped forward together.

The cool water splashed over her feet and gave Sara chill, igniting goose-bumps all over her skin, but she pushed forward, determined do this once and for all, despite the temperature.

As they made their way into the ocean and through the waves, they felt lighter, physically and emotionally.  They didn't stop until they made it past the breaking point and into the calmer water.  At this point, Sara could no longer touch and was struggling to tread the water when Leonard pulled her close and held her up by the waist.

"No worries."  He said casually.  "The lifeguard is here to protect you."

Gripping his biceps for support, Sara brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist.  Looking into his eyes, she whispered, "Don't let go."

"I won't."  He answered, meaning every word as they swiftly left his mouth, then pulled her impossibly closer for a passionate kiss.  The kissing quickly turned to more as what little clothing they wore was delicately removed underneath the glow of the moonlight.

The next day, Sara was on a plane back to Starling City wearing a bittersweet smile across her face as she played with the silver pinky ring that hung on a chain around her neck. As the plane took off and ascended into the sky, Sara stared out the window and thought to herself,   _some things definitely don't go according to plan, and that's okay because some things are meant to happen and others just aren't, and only time can tell those things apart_.  Sighing deeply, her eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off to sleep as she wondered which side Leonard the lifeguard would fall on.  Is what they have meant to be? Or meant to be forgotten?


End file.
